There is no official list of military construction projects that will be put on hold to build a southern border wall, as demanded in President Trump’s national emergency, according to Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who is also running the Office of Management and Budget.
President Trump vetoed a resolution Friday that disapproved of his emergency declaration, and Mulvaney said they are sure Congress cannot override the veto.
Here is part of his conversation with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday:
Wallace: Will the list of the military construction projects which lose money under the national emergency, will that information be given to Congress before they vote whether to override?
Mulvaney: No, the assumption in your question is not right. You’re assuming there’s a list some place that were not given to Congress, which is absolutely false. There’s a process that we are going through, that we will be and I think that we’ve already shared.
Wallace: I may be wrong, that the Pentagon had given the list to OMB.
Mulvaney: No, that is not true. There’s no identified list of projects that will not be funded. There’s an identified list of projects that will not be touched in fiscal 2019. That maybe what you’re hearing about. But we’re still going to the process of prioritizing what projects are on the Pentagon’s books for 2020 and beyond that are already funded that are not as high-priority as the border fence.
Mulvaney fielded similar questions Sunday on Face the Nation and said, “I know of the universe of things that might be delayed or reduced or cut in a very extreme circumstance that could be used to fund the wall, but a list of a decision that’s already been made saying ‘This money’s going to be cut and spent over there,’ that’s not been made yet.”
Senate Democrats say Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan broke a promise to share a detailed list, as On Base reported.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on Face the Nation Sunday that White House officials “worry that if Senate and House members saw the potential projects that were going to be ransacked to pay for the President’s wall, they would lose votes.”
U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol
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